This invention relates to a storage canister for radioactive wastes. In more detail, the invention relates to a storage canister for storing radioactive wastes which have been solidified as a glass.
It has been proposed that high-level, long-half-life radioactive wastes be converted to a glass and stored within a container or canister in some location where the radioactivity cannot contaminate the environment. Conversion of the wastes to a glass is advantageous because of the great inertness and low solubility of a glass. However, a glassy waste has a very low thermal conductivity and a high heat generation rate. This combination causes very high centerline temperatures when the waste is stored in a cylindrical canister. An obvious solution to the problem would be to employ fins extending from the canister wall to the canister center to conduct the heat from the center of the canister to the walls. Unfortunately, such a simple solution to the problem is not practical since conventional fins produce local hot spots where they are attached to the wall of the canister. Such hot spots cannot be tolerated as they induce severe internal stresses in the canister.